2009 - My Goals

I had decided long before NYE to not make "resolutions" for 2009. Resolutions have always seemed like a joke. They are to personal improvement what crash diets are to health and fitness. Resolutions, as we traditionally know them, produce little to no lasting results and just make us feel like failures by early March.

Instead, I decided I would recap my 2008 successes and make a list of goals (small & large) for 2009. I understand many people consider resolutions and goals to be synonymous. They're not. Resolution simply involves determination and will power to stop or start doing something, while goals require objectives, plans, and missteps. Once a resolution is broken it is often considered failed and abandoned; goals accept that mistakes will be made, that there will be times of success and failure before the goal is reached.

I've noticed that my way of thinking is common amongst my favorite bloggers. Many of them did not make 2009 "resolutions", they made goals or objectives and game plans to match. The Wisdom Journal had my favorite post on this topic. I've decided to enlist the help of WJ's framework of 4 goal types to sculpt my 2009 game plan.

The Four goal types are as follows:
1. Financial
2. Physical
3. Emotional
4. Mental

My 2009 Financial Goals:

1. GET A JOB - I have been Unemployed since October of 2008. Being that the Bay Area is experiencing the most layoffs since their last bubble burst, jobs I desire are hard to come by. BF and I have agreed that it is time to look for profitable work to get us through at least our financial goals. That means it's time for me to brush up on my Accounting skills and rearrange the resume. Number crunching, here I come! (I will continue to look for work I like, of course, but I can't afford to hold out for my dream job at the moment.)

2. Pay down 50% of my debt - Due to my aforementioned unemployment, I was unable to make great headway on my debt after October 2008. I am proud to say that the credit cards were not used for anything other than my automatic gym membership and BF's Starbucks habit. My confidence in reaching this goal is strong after making it through the holiday season without catapulting my debt right back to it's starting point!

a. pay off WaMu completely within 4 months of acquiring a job

d. reduce Citi to well under 10k by the end of the year (under 8k if I manage to land a job in Q1 of the year!)

My 2009 Physical Goals:

1. Reach my New Goal Weight of 129lbs - yes, 129, not 130. I am a "justifier", If I make my goal 130, then I will consider the goal accomplished at 134 lbs, but if I set it at 129, then I will have to make it there to consider that a success. Why? I have no idea, I just know that 129 is the best weight goal for success. I currently weigh in at about 143 (it was 141 just last week, I blame menstruation and Christmas candy). Shedding 14lbs over 12 months is incredibly reasonable, especially since I set a foundation for exercise & healthy eating with my 2008 race training regimens.

2. Train and Race a Bike with BF - I'm starting to feel a little bit run down by the constant training runs, so much so that I've only been running my long runs to prepare for my next race (yes, I know, opening myself up to injuries). I have no intention to give up running, I even have a goal related to running, but I need a new challenge and a break from training. Biking will be great since BF loves it and is always trying to get me to ride.

3. Run at least 15 miles each week - This excludes the two post race weeks when I simply cannot run in order to ensure knee health. Elliptical training will not count towards the 15 miles and the 15 miles should be divided into at least 2 days (not that there was much chance I planned to run 15 miles in one stint). Why am I making this a goal? Because, as I mentioned, I am getting tired of training, but I can't deny the good it has done for my body and mind, this goal is as much emotional as it is physical. Running keeps me tight and firm; it also give me time to reflect and take in my life. Since I began running (without a buddy) I've become so much more appreciative of all I have and stopped wanting all the time.

My 2009 Emotional Goals:

1. Come up with a few things that need improvement in my emotional life - As I touched on with running, I have learned to appreciate more and want less. Now I need to reflect more on myself. What am I lacking? What do I have to offer? How can I improve my friendships and relationships? BF is always happily announcing my attitude improvements over the last year, I was definitely a handful prior to my running days (and I still am, just a much more manageable one!); but I think I need to dig a little deeper and see where else I can improve. I've learned to understand my actions and faults and where they come from, now I would like to see if I could healthily approach them and eliminate them. Making this plan is my goal: not necessarily achieving all these changes by the end of the year. This will be the most difficult goal to keep and the easiest to forget.

2. Blog 2-3 times per week - I toyed with the idea of putting this under Mental Goals, but I feel that blogging is one way I introspect. The more I write, the more aware I become of myself and anything else I happen to be posting.

3. Network! - I can be a very social and outgoing person with my friends and peers. However, when it comes to professional settings (of any kind) I am tongue tied and shy. I would like to build my intellectual confidence in 2009 much like I did my physical confidence in 2008. This might require a whole lot more work than running! (this entry started in mental goals and was moved into emotional goals after I began to write that it's not networking I dislike, it's the fact that I feel inadequate in professional settings that sets me back)

My 2009 Mental Goals:

1. Take at least 2 Classes - I plan to attend Chinese classes beginning next week to check out the teacher. I haven't registered yet, I want to get a feel for it first. BF is super excited about this goal, he's been taking Chinese for about a year now and would like us to travel to China in the near future, and I am always game for a good trip!

2. Read at least 2 books per month - The hidden goals here are (1) watch less TV and (2) spend less time on the internet. I considered making those my goals, but I knew that wouldn't work for me. I am not good at self restraint. If I, instead, make an actionable goal that, by default, takes time away from my vices, then I will have really accomplished 3 things through the act of just one. Yeah, I have to trick myself like that sometimes.

My 2009 Miscellaneous Goals:

1. Learn to Knit hats and blankets - I just know scarves at the moment. Maybe this is a mental goal?

2. Post "Link Love" Blogs 2-3 times per month - I love the blogs I read, I want to share them!